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Spirit (Jewel album)

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This article is about the album. For the Halloween store, see Spirit Halloween.
Spirit
Studio album by
Jewel
ReleasedNovember 17, 1998 (1998-11-17)
Recorded1998
Studio
GenreFolk rock
Length54:12
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Jewel chronology
Pieces of You
(1995) 		Spirit
(1998) 		Joy: A Holiday Collection
(1999)
Singles from Spirit
  1. "Hands"
    Released: October 7, 1998[1]
  2. "Down So Long"
    Released: March 16, 1999[2]
  3. "Jupiter"
    Released: June 28, 1999[3]
  4. "What's Simple Is True"
    Released: October 25, 1999[4]
  5. "Life Uncommon"
    Released: April 13, 2000

Spirit is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jewel, released on November 17, 1998, by Atlantic Records. Singles include "Hands", "Down So Long", and a newly recorded version of "Jupiter", followed by a remix of "What's Simple Is True" to promote Jewel's debut film Ride with the Devil. In addition, a one-track CD containing a live version of "Life Uncommon" was released to music stores in hopes to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity.

Spirit debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 368,000 copies sold in its first week. It went on to sell 3.7 million units in the United States.[5]

Composition

[edit]

Kilcher began writing material for Spirit after the release of Pieces of You in 1995.[6] In 1996, she recorded six songs with producer Peter Collins, but scrapped the tracks after singles from her debut album, Pieces of You, began to receive significant radio play.[6]

In a 1998 interview, she divulged that the song "Fat Boy" was written about a boy she grew up with who committed suicide on her family's property in Alaska: "There was a note [he left] that said some thing along the lines of, 'Nobody will love me,.' And to know that you're not sexually attractive in our society at age thirteen or to feel that you won't ever be loved at age eighteen is just devastating."[6] She also stated that the song "Hands" was written based on the notion of: "if I watch what my hands do, I'd have a better idea of what I was thinking, consciously or subconsciously."[6]

Recording

[edit]

Spirit was recorded at Groove Masters in Santa Monica, California, and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood.[7] Jewel recorded the album with producer Patrick Leonard (who frequently had worked with Madonna), who added percussive undercurrents and keyboards to the guitar-based tracks.[6]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
American Songwriter[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[9]
The Guardian[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
NME1/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Spin4/10[15]
USA Today[16]

David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote of the album: "With her dulcet voice and lulling refrains, Jewel makes the social and political ills of the world go down easy. But in doing so, she unintentionally confounds the problem, since her honeyed background-music folk makes issues of life and death appear more benign and less worrisome than they are. Jewel truly has brought topical folk songs into the modern age: She makes complacent rabble-rousers."[9] Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield felt that while "Jewel's sincere sentiment has its attractions in a time of irony overload", she "spends most of Spirit straining for grand meaning-of-life statements."[14]

Jon Pareles of The New York Times compared Jewel's vocal mannerisms on the album to those of Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Michael Stipe, and Rickie Lee Jones, adding that "half the songs ... reach an otherworldly tenderness, redeeming the lyrics through the grace of the music."[17] Wendy Brandes of CNN praised Jewel's vocals on the album, though added: "In the funky, accusatory 'Who Will Save Your Soul' on the first album, Jewel dropped to a growl to ask, 'Who will save your soul after the lies that you told, boy.' Songs in the new collection such as 'Hands' and 'Kiss the Flame' are, by contrast, pleasant folky confections that don't distinguish themselves musically or lyrically."[18]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Jewel Kilcher, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Deep Water" 4:16
2."What's Simple Is True" 3:34
3."Hands"
3:54
4."Kiss the Flame" 3:17
5."Down So Long" 4:13
6."Innocence Maintained" 4:08
7."Jupiter" 4:18
8."Fat Boy" 2:54
9."Enter from the East" 4:02
10."Barcelona" 3:53
11."Life Uncommon" 4:56
12."Do You" 4:21
13."Absence of Fear" (hidden track: "This Little Bird")hidden track by John D. Loudermilk7:25
Non-U.S. bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Who Will Save Your Soul" (Live)3:29
Australian bonus disc CD: Live in Madrid 1999
No.TitleLength
1."Down So Long"5:24
2."What's Simple Is True"3:54
3."Foolish Games"4:34
4."Do You"4:17
5."Who Will Save Your Soul"5:05

25th anniversary deluxe edition

[edit]
Disc 1
No.TitleLength
1."Deep Water" 
2."What's Simple is True" 
3."Hands" 
4."Kiss The Flame" 
5."Down So Long" 
6."Innocence Maintained" 
7."Jupiter" 
8."Fat Boy" 
9."Enter From The East" 
10."Barcelona" 
11."Life Uncommon" 
12."Do You" 
13."Absence of Fear" 
14."This Little Bird" 
15."Hands" (Single remix) 
16."Down So Long" (Single Remix) 
17."Jupiter" (Single - Alternate Version) 
18."What's Simple Is True" (Soundtrack Version) 
19."You Were Meant For Me" (Live 2 Meter Sessions At VARA Studio, Netherlands – October 16, 1996) 
20."Who Will Save Your Soul" (Live 2 Meter Sessions At VARA Studio, Netherlands – October 16, 1996) 
Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Down So Long" (Live At Colegio Oficial de Medicos de Madrid, Spain – February 11th 1999) 
2."What's Simple Is True" (Live At Colegio Oficial de Medicos de Madrid, Spain – February 11th 1999) 
3."Foolish Games" (Live At Colegio Oficial de Medicos de Madrid, Spain – February 11th 1999) 
4."Do You" (Live At Colegio Oficial de Medicos de Madrid, Spain – February 11th 1999) 
5."Who Will Save Your Soul" (Live At Colegio Oficial de Medicos de Madrid, Spain – February 11th 1999) 
6."Innocence Maintained" (Live At Wheeler Opera House, Aspen, CO – January 22, 1999) 
7."Fat Boy" (Live At Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, UK – November 14, 1997) 
8."Deep Water" (Live At Fox FM Studios, Melbourne, Australia – February 25, 1999) 
9."Enter From The East" (Solo Acoustic Outtake) 
10."The Sue Lee Song" (Demo) 
11."Hands" (Alternate Version) 
12."Songs of Freedom" (Studio Outtake) 
13."Last Dance Rodeo" (Home Boombox Demo) 
14."Wandering" (Demo) 
15."Gloria" (Demo) 
16."Barcelona" (Live At Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX – July 9, 1999) 
17."Down" (Live At Woodstock ’99, Rome, NY, July 25, 1999) 
18."Beeswax Operetta" (Studio Outtake) 

Personnel

[edit]
Musicians

Technical personnel

  • Peter Collins – production
  • Patrick Leonard – production
  • Ross Hogarth – engineering, mixing
  • Christopher Shaw – engineering
  • Robi Banerji – assistant engineering
  • David Channing – assistant engineering
  • Sebastian Haimerl – assistant engineering
  • Bob Salcedo – assistant engineering
  • John Sorenson – assistant engineering
  • Katy Teasdale – assistant engineering
  • Kevin Killen – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Patrick Leonard – programming
  • Jeremy Lubbock – string arrangements
  • Edd Kolakowski – piano technician

Art personnel

  • Brenda Rotheiser – art direction, design
  • Jeanne Greco – artwork
  • Matthew Rolston – photography
  • Danny Flynn – stylist
  • Chris McMillan – hair stylist
  • Troy Jensen – makeup

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Spirit
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[39] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[40] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[41] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[42] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[44] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sandiford-Waller, Theda (October 17, 1998). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 42. p. 103.
  2. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1290. March 12, 1999. p. 89.
  3. ^ "Hot AC: Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1305. June 25, 1999. p. 93.
  4. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1322. October 22, 1999. pp. 87, 91.
  5. ^ "Ask Billboard: Jewel, Ciara, Ricky Martin". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e Strauss, Neil (December 24, 1998). "A Search for Truth About Jewel". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Spirit – Jewel". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  8. ^ Liebig, Lorie (November 17, 2023). "Review: Jewel's Stellar Sophomore Album 'Spirit' Shines Again on 25th Anniversary Edition". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Browne, David (November 20, 1998). "Spirit". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (November 20, 1998). "Jewel: Spirit (Atlantic)". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Nichols, Natalie (November 15, 1998). "No Emotional Nuances to Prop Up Sagging 'Spirit'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  12. ^ Long, April (November 16, 1998). "Jewel – Spirit". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Roberts, David (January 1999). "Jewel: Spirit". Q. No. 148.
  14. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (December 10, 1998). "Jewel: Spirit". Rolling Stone. No. 801. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  15. ^ Vowell, Sarah (January 1999). "Naïf in the Heart". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 1. pp. 111–112. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Gundersen, Edna (November 24, 1998). "A gem, though only semiprecious". USA Today.
  17. ^ Pareles, Jon (November 17, 1998). "Pop Review; Whatever Love May Be, At Heart It's Ever Powerful". The New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  18. ^ Brandes, Wendy (November 23, 1998). "New Jewel album lacking in 'Spirit'". CNN. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  19. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Jewel – Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  20. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Jewel – Spirit" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7053". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  22. ^ "Jewel Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jewel – Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  24. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 49. December 5, 1998. p. 11. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  25. ^ "Lescharts.com – Jewel – Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jewel – Spirit" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "アルバム売上ランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  28. ^ "Charts.nz – Jewel – Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Jewel – Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Jewel – Spirit". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  32. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  33. ^ "Jewel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  34. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1999". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  35. ^ "RPM 1999 Top 100 CDs". RPM. Vol. 70, no. 8. December 13, 1999. p. 18. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  36. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  37. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  38. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  39. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  40. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Jewel – Spirit" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 26, 2020. Select 1999年1月 on the drop-down menu
  41. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Jewel – Sporit" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 22, 2020. Enter Sporit in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2001 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  42. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Jewel – Spirit". Recorded Music NZ.
  43. ^ "British album certifications – Jewel – Spirit". British Phonographic Industry. July 22, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  44. ^ "American album certifications – Jewel – Spirit". Recording Industry Association of America. June 13, 2000.
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